Changing the way you drink your coffee could help you lose weight

People are always on the lookout for the next big thing in dieting; that miracle diet that is going to help you shed the weight once and for all, and preferably with as little effort and restraint as possible. 

Well, look no further, because the next big thing has arrived, and according to its devotees, it’s as simple as changing the way you have your coffee first thing in the morning. 

This is where it gets interesting. You might be thinking that it’s having less milk, or no milk – an obvious calorie reduction – but it’s basically the opposite. Instead, people are putting something with an extremely high fat content in their favourite caffeinated beverage to replace breakfast, and it isn’t cream. 

No, butter is apparently the secret ingredient, along with a glug of a special oil. You read it right; butter and oil in coffee. It may not sound too appealing, but the concoction, originating in the US, in the heart of innovation, Silicon Valley, it touted to aid in rapid weight loss, along with the additional benefits of increased energy (it is coffee, after all) and clarity of mind. 

One 55-year-old London woman told The Daily Mail that the drink, named Bulletproof Coffee, has stopped he middle aged spread – the dread of all woman over 50 – in its tracks, and has helped her to lose more than 10kg since December. 

To make the strange sounding drink, you should combine a cup of freshly-brewed coffee with two tablespoons of unsalted butter, along with two tablespoons of an oil that is rich in a compound known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). It needs to go in a blender to combine properly, and you have your miracle cure. 

The idea is that in replacing breakfast with the drink, although it is high calorie, it is generally less-so than a regular breakfast, and the absence of carbohydrates stops the body triggering an insulin response to store fat, instead burning existing fat stores for energy – a process known as ketosis. 

Doctors, however, aren’t so sure. 

Tracy Parker, a heart health dietitian at The British Heart Foundation, told The Daily Mail that the high fat content of Bulletproof could have dire consequences — particularly in those with high cholesterol.

“Eating a diet high in saturated fat can lead to weight gain, higher levels of bad cholesterol and an increased risk of heart and circulatory disease,” she says.

“A coffee that has in it two tablespoons of butter contains 70 per cent of your recommended daily intake of saturated fat alone, before any food has been eaten.” 

Do you think you could stomach a cup of bulletproof coffee, or will you just be sticking with a flat white?